Eclipse of Paradise
by Wrayth-Pariah
Summary: While in that paralyzed state under the Bush in the desert, Kiba found a new friend in the form of a wolf named Fay. When she turns out to not be a fragment of a dream, he offers her ragtag group a place in the pack and she accepts. Both unwilling to release the connection they gained in their dream. Now what will happen? Kiba/OC Tsume/Oc Toboe/OC Hige/Blue
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sunlight streamed through the tall, twisting grass above him as Kiba opened is blurry eyes. Unfamiliar to the area, he crawled out from under the bush to survey the place. Sand. A veritable desert lay before him with the faint outline of trees in the distance. Curious, he heading out for the oasis. It took hours for him to reach the grass and the small lake beyond it. Immediately he drank, attempting to sooth his dry throat. An interruption came when someone giggled at him from the other side of the water.

"Who are you" His baritone came out dark and suspicious of the female crouched on the opposite bank.

"Who am I? No one important. But my name is Fay. What's yours?" she replied her fingers twirling around the hip length strands of her white hair. Violet eyes watched him with a gleam an interest and enjoyment.

Kiba didn't reply. Choosing to instead to wipe the water that had trickled down his chin away with his wrist.

"It doesn't really matter. This place doesn't care who you are or were you came from." Still, her eyes never wavered.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba finally spoke up, still not willing to trust her just yet. Even as her reflection showed a whitish-gray wolf with gold eyes.

"Can't you tell? In this world, everyone can be free!" His eyes widened in surprised then narrowed, not liking the sound of it. Nothing was free. He stood and walked around the lake, ignoring her getting to her feet and following him. Halfway up the hill, he paused to glance behind.

"Don't follow me." he almost spat at her. The feeling of being followed was familiar but he didn't know where the feeling came from. It down right annoyed him.

"But why not?" was her innocent answer.

"Aren't you terrified of me?"

"Not a bit."

"I"m an unfamiliar wolf you know?"

"Well, isn't that right Captain Obvious?" She answered with a question of her own and he let it drop. She wasn't going to stop and he was going to ignore her until she lost interest. Kiba continued his climb but soon noticed she wasn't following and turned to satiate his curiosity. She was no longer behind him. He would have moved to find her only to turn at her laugh. She was in front of him now and gave a small beckoning motion before turning away. Confusion clouded his mind, he hadn't heard her move, as Kiba jogged to join her at the top. The sight was amazing. Animals of all kinds rested and grazed in a slightly wooded glen besides another lake with mountains rising beyond them.

"Is this Paradise?" he gasped in wonder.

"Paradise?" Fay questioned.

"A place where you can be free. I've been searching for it my whole life"

"If that's what you think it is, then it must be. This is a Paradise just for you." came her reply and she turned with a slightly pained expressions drawing his attention from the scenery. It was when she was sure he was looking that she switched from human to wolf and yipped playfully before taking off; Kiba hot on her heels. Finally he caught her and pinned her beneath him, violet eyes wide and white hair spayed about in the grass, both gasping. He hesitated before pushing off her, slender fingers grasping his wrist before he pull away.

"Kiba? Can you stay here with me forever?" she asked meekly. His heart pulled two ways as he pulled her up. Part of him whispered yes while the other shouted no.

"If this really is your Paradise, would you stay with me like this?" she tacked it onto her previous question.

"I'm not sure. Don't you have a pack"

"A pack?" her expression was pained but it cleared away quickly enough that he could've swore it was all in his mind.

"It's just us here. Are you scared?" she posed mt back to him, flicking her hair behind her ear.

"I''m not scared. Of anything. Not even the thought of death scares me. Since I was born, death has been nipping at my heels. It's as if my very birth had some how called it there." he ting him setting himself explain his memories to her. The pack. The fire. The airship. Being found, cared for and raised by a shaman. And the discussion of his existance and fate with his care-taker.

"I spent every waking moment searching for it. For where I'm meant to be" His eyes opened to catch her shifting his bangs from his eyes with a caring gaze.

"It's so strange, being able to talk about everything that's happened to me. I guess, I've just never really opened up to anyone before. Not to my friends. Or even Cheza. For the first time in my entire life, I'm finally at peace. It's here. This is Paradise. It must be." Kiba let his gaze drift to her own sad one.

"I was searching for Paradise once. After my mother died and, at a young age, I was left to fend for myself. I lived for years on nothing but hope and a fairytale. Then I met my friends. They weren't wolves but they followed me anyway. I couldn't find them when I woke up here. I was lonely before I met you." She smiled and they wandered together for a while. Bending, Kiba picked up a flower to see it rapidly die in his hand and Fay extended her hand to him with a smile.

An owl appeared to him in his dream and a soft voice called out for him.

"Kiba"

"Who's there"

"Kiba, KIBA" The voices roused him and he stood to search the darkness of his sleep for their source.

"Who's there? Where are you? I can't see" A deep hoot echoed fro behind him and he turned to see a familiar owl.

"Who are you? Where are you? I don't know. HOOOoooo" and it flew off into the shadows.

After a dream like that he woke to search out his new friend. Fay was sitting in the meadow with an owl circling her as she played with the grass.

"Kiba. What's wrong?" Fay's soft tones reached out to him as he sat besides her and she leaned against his back

"I can't remember. I've been hearing all these different voices but I can't remember who they belong to. I feel like I should know, but I can't see their faces"

"I've noticed that your memories fade little by little, and then you get used it." her lilting response came after a brief hesitation.

"Little by little and little by little still, then little by little." The owl cooed.

"Don't worry, Kiba. I'm with you. I'll always be with you." Fay nudged his shoulder and he smiled.

"Sure"

"Where are you? Who are you? Whether alive or wheater you're dead. There is nothing. Nothing matters. The answers are buried beneathe the Sand. HOOOOoooo!" The owl cried as he flew off the pair.

They sat beside eachother in companionable silence and watched the water when a wind kicked up and blew sand their way from the other side of the lake.

"I feel strange" Fay whimpered and drew his worried eyes to her.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know" and then they were separated and he was gazing at the lake from the darkness and her voiced echoed him from a place he could not reach. In the distance he heard a kind of chanting.

"I wanted to be with you forever. I realize now, this place, It isn't Paradise. Not the one we were searching for. It's a world where time doesn't move, and you lose all thought and memory."

"Why are you doing this."

"We have to go." Her voice was so sad.

"No wait! Come with me!" he cried out and she fell silent for a moment.

"I'm not sure I can. I don't know where I am or where you are." He could hear the tears in her voice.

"Fay! FAY!" He strained to be heard over the chanting.

"Goodbye Kiba. Maybe, we can see each other again"

Fay fell silent and he gazed at the different worlds displayed before him.

"Kiba. Kiba. Do you know who this one is? Kiba. Remember." A white flower bloomed somewhere in his thoughts.

"Cheza."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gold eyes opened to gaze at the unrecognizable surroundings. Animal pelts made up the floor beneath him and tan slanted wall created the home. Familiar people were crowded around while three unfamiliar ones sat off to the side, just barely at the edge of his vision.

"Remember us?" a tan haired boy in a yellow jacket asked sounding almost desperate.

"Kiba" a brown haired boy whimpered from beside a tall grey haired man.

It took a few more seconds for the memories to come rushing back in a wave that almost left him breathless.

"Hey Guys. Long time no see" And the tenseness surrounding the boys dissipated almost immediately. Then the berating came.

"I suppose you think that was funny, huh?!" From Hige.

"You almost scared us half to death! Where have you been?!" From Toboe.

"Somewhere peaceful. Almost like Paradise." Kiba gave them the short end of the stick so they would have to dig for the info if they wanted it.

"But it wasn't, right?" It was Tsume this time.

"No, they kicked me out" He murmured and let the exhaustion take over again as whispers erupted from the unfamiliar three discussed something he didn't care about.

When he awoke, the others were gone and the Indian Shaman was watching him as he sat up.

"Your friends were worried. They left so you could sleep in peace. The female's friends have excused themselves also since she is in worse shape then you are." The old man had motioned to a second wolf who looked dead to him. Or at least would have if not for the rise and fall of it's chest with each breath. The luster was gone from it's fur and the color, though familiar, was off. The Shaman's voice seemed to have roused it though as it sniffed, sneezed and sat up .

"Did someone get the number of that truck? My head is pounding." a voice rasped as though unused for a long while. A human form managed to take shape while the old man left to collect some food for them. White hair hung to her hips and her body looked lanky due to lack of nutrition. Once she ate, she would once more resemble the kind girl from his False Paradise.

"Fay?" Unable to help himself he waited for her to respond. To show that she wasn't just a dream. Her head turned and pained and curious eyes met his. They widened in astonishment and then began to tear.

"Kiba? Is that you? What...? How...? Why...? I thought..." she couldn't seem to get out her questions or they drifted off as she tried to stop her tears. He managed to shift his form and she gave him a smile.

"We survived. I'm not sure of the details but we are here" he stated with a returning, albeit tired, grin. The Shaman returned with food and she accepted what was handed to her. In between bites they picked up their conversation.

"Will you still look for Paradise" Kiba asked and Fay looked up from picking at a think chunk of meat.

"I will. It's all I've known."

"Join us." His comment made her look up in shock.

"What about my friends? The ones I travel with? They are here too." she looked from him to to doorway then back to her food.

"I'd like to follow you but my friends are like my pack. I can't just leave them to follow you" she looked sad once more until her reached over and cupped her face in his palm, tilting her head to look at him.

"I wouldn't force you to leave them behind. They can come." The smile that comment brought lightened his mood.

"And your pack would approve?" and the nod he gave as an answer made her grin. The Shaman put a stop to their chatting since they had stopped eating for several minutes and they quickly finished off their meals before curling up to rest a bit more before facing the others. After he settled down, she curled up beside him and muttered that she was a bit cold as an excuse to cuddle with him. Together they drifted back into the dark.

The next time Kiba awoke, he found he was the first to come to with the soft silver wolf still deep in sleep. Quietly he pulled away from her, but not before he mistakenly pulled his paw out from under her nose and startled her awake. Fay, still drowsy, sat up and shifted to glance over at him in her human form. This time he took a glance to see if she wore the simple shirt and jean combo she had in the False Paradise. No. She wasn't. Instead of the white shirt, she wore a black, strapped halter top with two belted sections that circled her waist and neck, creating an x a few inches above her belly button and over her collar bone. Her stomach was left bare with a pair of dark jeans to tightly encase her hips and legs. A single violet scarf wrapped around her hips and the ends dragged on the floor as she sat beside him. A pair of black boots with purple ribbons hid her feet and a deep lavender band circled her upper right arm.

"Kiba?" Fay's voice was still riddled with sleep but it was clear she was shaking it off pretty quickly.

"Shouldn't we start to head out? I think we could still use some rest though."

"We should get going. Any longer and we might not want to go." Kiba stood and helped her to her feet. She wobbled a bit and grasped his shoulder to steady herself before moving towards the opening to the tee-pee. She passed through first and froze a step from the doorway. Kiba managed to shuffle out from behind her and realized that she had stopped to stare at his pack mates. He chuckled at her and left her side to meet the others when Fay yelped. Spinning around, he almost lost his footing as he watched her go down under a large white feline and little red fox, a raven fluttered uneasily above them.

"Finally! We should go before these humans make Mika fat!"

"They are not! The kids wouldn't stop pulling your whiskers is all!"

"I don't think she can breathe guys..." The raven, male from the deepness of it's voice, managed to bring the two girls to attention and they got off their fallen comrade. After making sure she was alright they waited for her to pull herself back together and make a decision.

"Ummm... I'm not..." she was stuttering under the pressure of the decision so Kiba came to the rescue, calling attention from both his pack and hers.

"We are searching for Paradise and I offered Fay a chance to join us. You, as her pack, are welcome to come as well." The girls pulled Fay and the raven into a group huddle leaving him to talk to his own pack. Tsume was the first to talk.

"You okay now?"

"Yeah. Guess I overslept. I feel like I've been dreaming for a very long time. A strange and wonderful dream."

"What your spirit beheld was the Garden of Eternity." The old Shaman announced from his left and Kiba glanced over.

"Garden of Eternity?" Behind him Fay pulled herself away from her friends to stand a few feet away and listen in.

"You experienced Joy and Tranquility unlike any you've known before, yes?"

"Yeah" Kiba replied while Fay nodded in silent agreement, not wanting to interrupt.

"That is enough to satisfy most people. They embrace the emotion and never look back. But for you, that was not enough or you wouldn't have returned."

"I see. There's somewhere else I need to go" The old man's eyes narrowed at Kiba's answer.

"Tell me. Why are you searching for Paradise?"

"I have to, to survive." After the old man had studied the seriousness in Kiba's cerulean gaze, he smiled.

"I see." And he wandered off as Tsume took the chance to address him.

"So what happened to you in the Garden place?" Kiba stepped closer the rock they were sitting on and answered.

"Nothing. Except, I met a nice girl." The white wolf's blue human eyes lowered to the ground to hide the flicker they made towards the females who seemed to playing around with Fay watching on with a smile. It seemed their discussion was coming to a close. Toboe and Hige leaned towards Kiba in slight shock at his announcement.

"You met a GIRL! NO WAY!" came Hige's remark while Tsume stared a second more before grinning.

"I should have guessed. No wonder you seem less uptight."

"Wait. I don't get it." Toboe spoke up and Tsume turned to him.

"And you won't for a few years."

"Oh man! Kiba has all the luck!" Hige groaned, earning a smile from Kiba as the noise from the girls quieted down to simple foot steps.

"But why can't I get it now?" And Kiba decided to speak up once more before the girls reached them.

"The entire time I was there, I felt like I was forgetting something. Not just Cheza. But all of you. I thought you were dead" he stated to the dumbfounded looks of his friends.

"You've gotta be kidding! Do you have any idea how hard be we busted our butts trying to find you!" Hige hollered.

"Oh, you did? Sorry I didn't know." Kiba answered calmly and it seemed to put the boy off.

"That brain of yours is never gonna change is it?" Hige murmured as Fay stepped up behind him and tugged on the jacket Kiba held over his shoulders.

"Kiba? The girls agreed to join you. They just ask that you treat them like you would another wolf is all." Fay's soft voice made him smile as he turned to face her and behind him Hige exclaimed that Kiba 'still had all the luck'. Tsume had quickly put that remark down by growling that 'she probably is the girl he had met in that Garden place'. Fay started to introduce her friends. The snow leopard had turned to a green eyed young woman of about 20 with short jaw length black hair with white roots while the fox turned to a red headed youth of 14 with bouncy curls that hung to her chest and a sly orange gaze that seemed wise for her age.

"Mika is the fox and she the youngest of us. Kerli is the snow leopard. And Allen is the Raven. We call him Al for short." Fay tucked her white hair behind her ears, nervous of his pack mates.

"What about your name? I'm Toboe" Toboe smiled as he slipped off the rock to offer a hand to her.

"Oh! Umm... I'm Fay. Nice to meet you Toboe" She smiled and was soon introduced to Tsume and Hige, the former giving his best 'I don't care' attitude white the latter practically fell short of dry humping her leg when she offered her hand.

Kiba stepped closer to her as Hige looked a bit put off by her ignoring his obvious pick up line. They all laughed at the chubby wolf's expense and became serious quickly once more.

"Lets go" Kiba stated and the other three males grew silent. Toboe looking a sad as the others exchanged glances.

"I...I...I'm not gonna whine anymore. And I won't run away" the burgundy pup's look turned serious and Hige's quick 'Wanna bet?' had his expression change almost comically as he turned to glare at the older boy.

"No way." and Tsume flicked him in the head to break up the tension between the two.

"You ready? The kid sure is." The silver haired man asked.

"Yeah" Kiba answered while the fox giggled with an 'Obviously' being tossing in.

"Of course" Kerli grinned, impatience shining in her green orbs and they all turned to look at Fay who smiled at Kiba and nodded.

"Yes. Paradise is waiting for us."


End file.
